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United States Department of Agriculture
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all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program, or protected genetic information in employment or in any program or activity 

conducted or funded by the Department. (Not all prohibited bases will apply to all programs and/or employment activities.)

If you wish to file a Civil Rights program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, found online at http://www.ascr.usda.gov/

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Send your completed complaint form or letter to us by mail at U.S. Department of Agriculture, Director, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, 

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FNS-462 | March 2014
About Team Nutrition

Team Nutrition is an initiative of the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service to support the Child Nutrition 

Programs. Team Nutrition provides training and technical assistance for school nutrition directors and staff, 

nutrition education for children and their caregivers, and school and community support for healthy eating 

and physical activity. Team Nutrition aims to improve children’s lifelong eating and physical activity habits by 

using the principles of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and MyPlate.

Team Nutrition provides curricula, posters, parent handouts, and other resources free-of-charge to schools 

that participate in the Federal Child Nutrition Programs. 

Schools may request printed materials using the online order form at http://tn.ntis.gov/. Materials may also 

be downloaded at http://teamnutrition.usda.gov. 

Become a Team Nutrition School

If your school is enrolled as a Team Nutrition School, you are in good company – more than 30,000 

schools across the Nation have joined Team Nutrition! Enroll for free at http://teamnutrition.usda.gov. 

By joining, your school can:

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Affirm its commitment to helping students make healthier food choices and be more physically active;

Collaborate with other Team Nutrition Schools;

Hear about new nutrition education and training materials developed under the Team Nutrition 

initiative; and

Apply for HealthierUS School Challenge certification (visit http://www.fns.usda.gov/hussc/

healthierus-school-challenge for more information)
Acknowledgements

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) would like to thank the following 

schools and individuals for their contributions and expertise in the development of this publication.

Schools in Action:

Fort Huachuca School District, Fort Huachuca, AZ

Tuba City Primary School and

Eagles Nest Intermediate School, Tuba City, AZ

California Public Schools

El Monte City School District, El Monte, CA

Elk Grove Unified School District, Elk Grove, CA

Orange County Public Schools, Orange County, FL

Sequoyah Middle School, Doraville, GA

Southeast Polk Junior High, Pleasant Hill, IA

Lillian Vallely School, Blackfoot, ID

Covington Elementary School, Covington, IN

Orchard Park Elementary School, Indianapolis, IN

Rockville Elementary School, Rockville, IN

Shoals Elementary School, Shoals, IN

Wakarusa Elementary School, Wakarusa, IN

Southeast High School, Cherokee, KS

Dighton School District, Dighton, KS

Dodge City Public Schools, Dodge City, KS

Fort Scott Public Schools, Fort Scott, KS

Greeley County Schools, Greeley County, KS

Hesston Middle School, Hesston, KS

Rural Vista School District, Hope, KS

Norton Junior High School, Norton, KS

Stafford Schools, Stafford, KS

St. Joseph Catholic School, Wichita, KS

Country View Elementary School, Winfield, KS

Triplains USD 275, Winona, KS

North Attleboro Middle School, North Attleboro, MA

Eastern Middle School, Silver Spring, MD

Jefferson High School, Boulder, MT

Kalispell Middle School, Kalispell, MT

The Luther School, Luther, MT

Cartoogechaye Elementary School, Macon County, NC

Conlee Elementary School, Las Cruces, NM

Carson Elementary School, Cincinnati, OH

North Marion School District, Aurora, OR

Shippensburg Area Middle School, Shippensburg, PA

Slater Junior High School, Pawtucket, RI

Slater Middle School, Pawtucket, RI

Providence Career Technical Academy, Providence, RI

North Stewart Elementary, Big Rock, TN

Beech Bluff Elementary School, Jackson, TN

M.B. Henderson Elementary School, Dallas, TX

Fairfax County Public Schools, Fairfax County, VA

Richmond Elementary School, Richmond, VT

Greenville Middle School, Hortonville, WI

Reviewers: 

Katie Bark, RD, LN

Molly Stenberg, RD

Montana Team Nutrition

Elizabeth Foland, MS, RD 

Indiana Office of School and Community Nutrition 

Diane Duncan-Goldsmith, MS, RD, LD

Chair, School Nutrition Services Dietetic Practice 

Group of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

Jill Ladd, RD, LD

Kansas Team Nutrition

Caitlin Merlo, MPH, RD

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Heather Parker, MS, CHES 

National PTA

Caroline Roffidal-Blanco, MS, RD, LD

Jill Camber Davidson, RD, CD

Action for Healthy Kids

Carol Chong, MA, RD, LDN

Alliance for a Healthier Generation

Lora Gilbert, MS, RD, FADA

Orange County Public Schools

Food & Nutrition Services

Lisa McCoy

Sue Tatum

Vinca Marketing & Communications 

(Contractor for Orange County Public Schools)

Carrie Scheidel, MPH

Iowa Team Nutrition

Christina Conell

USDA FNS Farm to School Team

USDA Project 

Managers/Members: 

Project Officer:

Alicia H. White, MS, RD

Child Nutrition Division

USDA FNS

Project Team:

Jan Barrett, MS, MBA, RD

Heidi Bishop, BS

Barbara Jirka, PhD, SNS

Child Nutrition Division

USDA FNS

This publication was created 

through a contract with Edelman.
Table of Contents

About This Booklet ............................................................................................................................................1

Events Through the Year...................................................................................................................................6

Events At a Glance.............................................................................................................................................10

Elementary School Events

Be a Food Champion: Stand Up for Your Favorites...........................................................14

Color Days: A Celebration of Fruits and Vegetables ..........................................................24

Food Explorer: A Scavenger Hunt To Power Up ...............................................................30

Food Smarts: Reading About Eating and Moving .............................................................33

Try-Day Fridays: It’s Fun To Find New Favorite Foods .......................................................68

Middle School Events

Food Crusade: A Food Video Challenge...........................................................................27

Healthy Food Heritages: Investigating Nutrition Across Cultures .......................................44

You Control the School Menu: Vote for Your Favorite ........................................................74

Elementary and Middle School Events

Can’t Beat How I Eat: A Fruit and Vegetable Challenge ....................................................17

The Chef in You: A Cooking Competition..........................................................................20

From East to West, Eat What’s Best: A Pen Pal Program..................................................38

Fun, Food, and Fitness: A Family Party.............................................................................41

Launch Your Day With Breakfast: Fuel Up To Help Your Day Take Off...............................47

MyPlate Day: Fun With All Five Food Groups ....................................................................50

MyPlate Food Drive: Lending a Healthy Hand ...................................................................53

Plant It, Grow It, Eat It!: Healthy Habits Take Root.............................................................56

Power Up With Local Athletes: Try a Sport Day ................................................................59

Shop Smart: A Mock Grocery Store .................................................................................62

Start Your Day on the Right Foot: Walk to Breakfast.........................................................65

The Whole World of Whole Grains: Celebrating Cultures and Food...................................71

Appendix: Templates, Handouts, and Resources for School Events...............................................77